He called churches to pray for the 'Forward together in hope' initiative which will seek to answer the big question: what makes for a flourishing Catholic community?
The Bishop said: "I sincerely hope that every parish will take seriously the need to pray for our future work. Everything we do must be underpinned by prayer. If we put prayer at the centre of it all, I have no doubt that the Holy Spirit will guide us".
The project will look at ways in which to encourage Catholic communities to flourish with or without a resident priest and will involve a huge consultation exercise across the diocese.
Fr Jim O'Keefe is the Diocesan Development Director and he spoke to Ian Britton from our North East office about Forward Together in Hope.